Self-aligning back plate for an electronic device

ABSTRACT

An illustrative electronic assembly includes a housing and a wall plate, where the wall plate is releasably connectable to the housing. The housing and the wall plate may be configured such that the housing and the wall plate may be able to initially engage each other with the wall plate misaligned relative to the housing. The housing and the wall plate may be configured to guide one another into alignment as the housing and the wall plate are moved together.

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/800,637, filed Mar. 15, 2013 and entitled “Electronic Device andMethods”, which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to electronic devices, and moreparticularly to improved use, assembly, construction, and reliability ofsuch electronic devices.

BACKGROUND

Electronic devices, such as Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning(HVAC) control panels, security system control panels, lighting controlpanels, irrigation control panels as well as other electronic devicesare commonly used today. What would be desirable is an electronic devicethat has improved ease of use, ease of assembly, better constructionand/or increased reliability over what is available today.

SUMMARY

This disclosure relates to electronic devices such as HVAC controllerdevices, and more particularly, to improved use, assembly, construction,and reliability of such electronic devices.

In one example, an electronic assembly may include a housing and a wallplate. The housing and the wall plate may be configured such that thehousing and the wall plate may be able to initially engage each otherwith the wall plate misaligned relative to the housing. The housing andthe wall plate may be configured to guide one another into alignment asthe housing and the wall plate are moved together. In one example, thehousing may have a back side that defines a recess for receiving atleast part of the wall plate. The recess in the back side of the housingmay be defined by a recessed back wall and recess side walls. The recessside walls may be tilted, slanted, angled, beveled, chamfered orotherwise configured to receive and help guide the wall plate intoproper alignment with the housing. In some cases, the wall plate mayhave side walls that mate or otherwise cooperate with the recessed sidewalls of the housing to help guide one another into alignment as thehousing and the wall plate are moved together.

The preceding summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of someof the innovative features unique to the present disclosure and is notintended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the disclosurecan be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, andabstract as a whole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure may be more completely understood in consideration of thefollowing description of various embodiments in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an illustrative electronicassembly;

FIG. 2 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the illustrativeelectronic assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of an illustrative sub-assemblyof an illustrative electronic assembly;

FIG. 4 is a schematic partially exploded side view of the illustrativesub-assembly of the illustrative electronic assembly of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional partially-exploded view of thefeatures of the illustrative electronic assembly of FIG. 3 with theelectrostatic discharge clip in an original position;

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the features of theillustrative electronic assembly of FIG. 3 with the electrostaticdischarge clip in an articulated position;

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of an illustrative electrostaticdischarge clip of an electronic assembly;

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of another illustrativeelectrostatic discharge clip of an electronic assembly;

FIG. 9 is a schematic flow diagram of an illustrative method ofgrounding an electronic component of an electronic device;

FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of an illustrative spacer of anelectronic assembly;

FIG. 11 is a schematic side view of the illustrative spacer of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a further schematic side view of the illustrative spacer ofFIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view of an illustrative front coverof an electronic assembly;

FIG. 14 is a schematic side view of the illustrative front cover of FIG.13;

FIG. 15 is a further schematic side view of the illustrative front coverof FIG. 13;

FIG. 16A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the illustrativeelectronic assembly of FIG. 1, taken along line 16A-16A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 16B is a further schematic cross-sectional view of the illustrativeelectronic assembly of FIG. 1, take along line 16A-16A of FIG. 1,enlarging the portion contained in the dotted circle 16B of FIG. 16A;

FIG. 17 is a schematic exploded perspective front view of anillustrative front cover, gasket, electronic component, spacer, andprinted wiring assembly of an illustrative electronic assembly;

FIG. 18 is a schematic front view of an illustrative spacer engaged withan illustrative printed wiring assembly of an illustrative electronicassembly;

FIG. 19 is a schematic exploded perspective back view of an illustrativefront cover, electronic component, and spacer of the illustrativeelectronic assembly of FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 is a schematic partially exploded view of an illustrativeprinted wiring assembly exploded from an illustrative front cover,electronic device, and spacer of the illustrative electronic assembly ofFIG. 17;

FIG. 21 is a schematic exploded perspective view of an illustrativefront cover, gasket and electronic component of the illustrativeelectronic assembly of FIG. 17;

FIG. 22 is a schematic back view of the illustrative electronic assemblyof FIG. 17;

FIG. 23 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the illustrativeelectronic assembly of FIG. 22, taken along line 23-23;

FIG. 24 is a schematic front perspective view of an illustrative backcover and wall plate of an illustrative electronic assembly;

FIG. 25 is a schematic exploded back perspective view of an illustrativeback cover and wall plate of an illustrative electronic assembly;

FIG. 26A is a schematic cross-sectional view of an illustrativelyassembled back cover and wall plate;

FIG. 26B is a schematic magnified view of illustrative mating wallsbetween an assembled back cover and wall plate, taken from FIG. 26A;

FIG. 26C is a schematic magnified view of illustrative pockets in theassembled back cover and wall plate, taken from FIG. 26A;

FIG. 27 is a schematic front view of an illustrative back cover of anelectronic assembly; and

FIG. 28 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an illustrative PWA and aback cover of an illustrative electronic assembly;

FIG. 29 is a schematic exploded perspective view of an illustrative backcover, printed wiring assembly, and battery of an illustrativeelectronic assembly;

FIG. 30 is a schematic perspective view of an illustrative electronicassembly with a tool inserted therein;

FIG. 31 is a schematic side view of the illustrative electronic assemblywith a tool inserted therein, having a portion of the illustrativeelectronic assembly housing removed;

FIG. 32 is a schematic perspective view of an illustrative batteryholder;

FIG. 33 is a schematic side view of the illustrative battery holder ofFIG. 32;

FIG. 34A is a schematic front view of an illustrative wall plate of anillustrative electronic assembly;

FIG. 34B is a schematic back view of the illustrative wall plate of FIG.34A;

FIG. 35 is a schematic partially exploded view of an illustrative screwterminal of an illustrative electronic assembly;

FIG. 36 is a schematic perspective view of an illustrative screwterminal of an electronic assembly;

FIG. 37 is a schematic exploded view of the illustrative screw terminalof FIG. 36;

FIG. 38 is a schematic side view of the illustrative screw terminal ofFIG. 36;

FIG. 39 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electric circuit foran electronic assembly;

FIG. 40 is a schematic diagram of another illustrative electric circuitfor an electronic assembly;

FIG. 41 is a schematic diagram of another illustrative electric circuitfor an electronic assembly;

FIG. 42 is a schematic graph depicting an illustrative thermalcompensation model over time; and

FIG. 43 is a schematic flow diagram of an illustrative method ofcompensating a sensed temperature.

While the disclosure is amenable to various modifications andalternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of examplein the drawings and will be described in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that the intention is not to limit aspects of thedisclosure to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, theintention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternativesfalling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION

The following description should be read with reference to the drawingswherein like reference numerals indicate like elements throughout theseveral views. The description and drawings show several embodimentswhich are meant to be illustrative in nature.

For convenience, the present disclosure may be described using relativeterms including, for example, left, right, top, bottom, front, back,upper, lower, up, and down, as well as others. It is to be understoodthat these terms are merely used for illustrative purposes and are notmeant to be limiting in any manner.

An electronic device or assembly 10 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. It iscontemplated that the electronic device or assembly 10 may be, forexample, a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) controlpanel, security system control panel, lighting control panel, irrigationcontrol panel, or any other suitable device. In one example, theelectronic device 10 may be a thermostat, but his is not required.

In some instances, as shown in FIG. 2, the illustrative electronicassembly 10 may include a housing 12, a PWA 14, an electronic component16, and an electrically conductive extender or connector 18, where thePWA 14 and the electronic component 16 may be positioned at leastpartially within the housing 12. In some cases, a conductive shield maybe provided adjacent the PWA 14, such as between the PWA 14 and theelectronic component 16. In the illustrative example shown in FIGS. 1and 2, the electronic component 16 may be a touch screen display thatitself includes a conductive metal backing which can function as aconductive shield. The conductive shield may be electrically coupled tothe ground feature of the PWA 14 via the connector 18, as furtherdescribed below.

As noted above, the PWA 14 may include a grounding feature, such as aground plane or other grounding feature (e.g., a grounding point,grounding terminal, ground pad, etc.). In some instances, the groundingfeature or grounding plane may be an area of copper foil or otherconductive material connected to a grounding point of the PWA 14. Thegrounding feature or grounding plane may serve as a return path forcurrent from electronic components of the electronic assembly 10. Thegrounding feature or grounding plane is not specifically identified inthe Figures, but may take the form of a conductive layer of the PWA 14,a terminal or pad on the PWA 14, or any other form as desired.

Electronic devices and their electronic assemblies 10, such as theillustrative thermostat shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, may be susceptible toelectrostatic discharge (ESD) events. Such ESD events may occur when,for example, the electronic assemblies 10 are contacted by users andstatic electricity is discharged from the user to the electronicassembly 10. Such ESD events may be harmful to the electronic assemblies10, as the electronic components of the electronic assemblies 10 may beshort circuited or otherwise damaged by the ESD events. Providing somelevel of ESD protection in configuring an electronic assembly 10 is thusdesirable in many situations.

From a hardware perspective, electronic devices and their electronicassemblies 10 may be at least partially protected from ESD events by,for example, including a conductive path for passing the electrostaticdischarge safely to ground, and bypassing sensitive electroniccomponents of the electronic assemblies 10. As indicate above, theelectronic assembly 10 may include a printed wiring assembly (PWA) 14that includes a ground feature, such as a ground plane. When provided,the ground plane may itself help shield sensitive electronic componentsfrom an outside ESD event.

As indicated above, and in some instances, the electronic component 16may have a metal backing 22 (e.g., a zinc plating, sheet metal, and/orother metal or conductive material), a portion of a backing that ismetal, or a metal feature extending adjacent the back of the electroniccomponent 16. While a metal backing is used in this example, it iscontemplated that any suitable conductive layer or shield may be used,if present. In one example, the electronic component 16 may be a display32 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or other display) that is atleast partially enclosed by a metal box structure, where at least a backside of the display 32 (e.g., a side opposite a front side for viewingthe display 32, where side walls may extending between the front sideand the back side) includes a metal backing 22 (see FIG. 4). In somecases, the perimeter sides (e.g., side walls) of the display 32, andeven a border around the front side of the display 32, may be covered bythe metal box structure. Where the electronic component 16 includesmetal backing 22 or another conductive feature extending adjacent theback of the electronic component 16, an electrically conductive extenderor connector 18 may provide an electrical connection between the metalbacking 22 or the other conductive feature and the ground feature of thePWA 14. Such an electrical connection 18 between the PWA 14 and theelectronic component 16 may, for example, help ground the metal backing22 of the electronic component 16 and reduce the chances that an ESDevent will cause damage to electronic components mounted on or near thePWA 14.

In some instances, the electronic component 16 and the PWA 14 may bespaced apart from each other when mounted in the housing 12. In oneexample, the metal backing 22 may be spaced from the PWA 14 and/or fromcomponents on the PWA 14 by a distance greater than about two (2)millimeters, greater than about three (3) millimeters, greater thanabout five (5) millimeters, greater than about ten (10) millimeters, orany other distance as desired. Such a space may provide sufficient spaceto accommodate one or more electrical components that may be mounted tothe side of the PWA facing a spacer 24 and/or electronic component 16,and in some cases, may help dissipate or distribute heat generated bythe PWA 14 and/or electronic component 16 within the housing.

In some instances, to help maintain the space between the electroniccomponent 16 and the PWA 14, the spacer 24 may be provided, as shown infor example FIGS. 2-4 and 10-12. The spacer 24 may be made from anysuitable material(s). For example, the spacer 24 may be made from one ormore polymers or other materials having desirable material properties.The spacer 24 may be made from an electrically insulating material, suchthat the spacer 24 does not create a short circuit between anyconductive traces or other components on the PWA 14 and the electroniccomponent 16. Further, the spacer 24 may be configured to help supportthe electronic component 16 both when users are interacting with theelectronic component 16 and when the electronic component 16 may beoperating on its own.

In some instances, the spacer 24 may take on a web-like form, such asshown best in perhaps FIGS. 2, 10, 17, 19, and 21, and may have openings25 (e.g., one or more openings 25, two or more openings 25, etc.)between structural portions 48. The openings 25 of the spacer 24 mayallow for air gaps between the back side of the display 32 and the PCB34 of the PWA 14, when the spacer is positioned therebetween (see,discussion of the positioning of the spacer 24 below). The spacer 24 mayhave spacer side walls 42 extending from and/or forming one or moreedges of the spacer 24, as best seen in perhaps FIGS. 10-12.Illustratively, the spacer side walls 42 may extend in the direction ofthe PWA 14 and/or may extend along an entire edge of the spacer 24 ormay extend a partial distance along an edge of the spacer 24, as seen inFIGS. 10 and 12. When in use with the housing 12, the spacer side walls42 of the spacer 24 may be formed to mate with the housing 12, which mayhelp provide an ESD path 44 that travels around the ends of the spacerwalls 24, as best shown in perhaps FIGS. 11 and 16B. Because the lengthof the ESD path 44 is increased by the spacer side walls 42, the PWA 14may be better protected from an ESD event originating from outside ofthe housing 12.

In some instances, the web-like configuration of the spacer 24 may allowfor a double sided PWA 14 component placement, whereas a spacer 24without openings 25 may not permit component placement on the side ofthe PWA 14 adjacent the electronic component 16. The openings 25 in thespacer 24 may allow components to be mounted on both sides of the PCB 34without interfering with the electronic component 16 (e.g., display 32)of the electronic assembly 10, by providing space for the components onthe side of the PCB 34 facing the component 16.

In some instances, the electrically conductive extender or connector 18may have one or more portions 26, 28, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.Illustratively, the electrically conductive extender or connector 18 mayhave a first portion or connector portion 26, and a second portion orspring portion 28 (e.g., a flexible beam or other feature). In oneexample, the first portion or connector portion 26 may be integrallyformed with the second portion or spring portion 28, as shown in FIGS. 7and 8. In another example, the first portion or connector portion 26 maybe formed separate from the second portion or spring portion 28 andcombined in any manner, as desired, to form the electrically conductiveextender or connector 18.

Illustratively, the electrically conductive extender or connector 18 mayhave a form that differs from that of the electrically conductiveextender or connector 18 shown in FIG. 7. In one example, theelectrically conductive extender or connector 18 may have first portion26 with a width W1 and second portion 28 with a width W2, where width W2may have a smaller value than width W1, as shown in FIG. 8. In thisexample, where width W1 is greater than width W2, the second portion 28may be located off-center with respect to the first portion 26, as shownin FIG. 8, but this is not required.

When the first portion or connector portion 26 and the second portion orspring portion 28 are in combination, the electrically conductiveextender or connector 18 may have the form of a clip, a spring, a clasp,or other form having a configuration that may be connected to the PWA14. In some instances, the electrically conductive extender or connector18 may take on a clip form and may include a first portion or connectorpotion 26 and second portion or a spring portion 28. The first portionor connector portion 26 may be configured to mechanically connect to thePWA 14, and the second portion or of the spring portion 28 may beconfigured to mechanically contact and electrically connect to the metalbacking 22. In some cases, the first portion or connector portion 26 ofthe electrically conductive extender or connector 18 may mechanicallyconnect to the PWA 14 via surface mount technology (“SMT”). In otherexamples, the first portion or connector portion 26 of the electricallyconductive extender or connector 18 may mechanically connect to the PWA14 via mounting techniques that differ from SMT. In some illustrativeinstances, the first portion 26 of the electrically conductive extenderor connector 18 may be soldered to a surface 15 of the PWA 14, such thatthe second portion or spring portion 28 of the electrically conductiveextender or connector 18 may extend away from the surface 15 of the PWA14 and toward the electronic component 16, as best seen in FIGS. 5-6. Insome cases, the first portion 26 of the electrically conductive extenderor connector 18 may be soldered to a conductive pad, such as a groundfeature or ground plane.

The electrically conductive extender or connector 18 may have a featurethat is configured to contact the metal backing 22 of the electroniccomponent 16. In one example, the second portion or spring portion 28 ofthe electrically conductive extender or connector 18 may have a contactportion 30 for contacting the metal backing 22 of the electroniccomponent 16. The contact portion 30 of the second portion or springportion 28 may take on any shape and/or size. Illustratively, thecontact portion 30 may have the shape of a protrusion or a bump that hasa peak rising above any other portion of the electrically conductiveextender or connector 18, where, for reference, the electronic component16 is considered to be above the PWA 14.

In some instances, the electrically conductive extender or connector 18may be resilient, such that the material and/or form of the electricallyconductive extender or connector 18 has mechanically resilientproperties. Illustratively, an electrically conductive resilientextender or connector 18 may be configurable between an originalconfiguration or position, as best shown in FIG. 5, and an articulatedconfiguration or position, as best shown in FIG. 6, where theelectrically conductive resilient extender or connector 18 may provide aspring force back toward the original configuration. Where theelectrically conductive resilient extender or connector 18 is in thearticulated configuration (see FIG. 6), the spring force of theconductive resilient extender or connector 18 may be exerted against themetal backing 22 of the electronic component 16, the PWA 14, or themetal backing 22 of the electronic component 16 and the PWA 14.

In some instances, when the electrically conductive extender orconnector 18 is configurable between an original configuration orposition and an articulated configuration or position, the distancebetween a top portion or the contact portion 30 of the electricallyconductive extender or connector 18 and the PWA 14 may vary depending onthe configuration. For example, when the electrically conductiveextender or connector 18 is in the original configuration, the topportion or the contact portion 30 of the electrically conductiveextender or connector 18 may be 1.0-5.0 millimeters, 2.2-2.8millimeters, 2.4-2.6 millimeters, 2.0-2.5 millimeters, 2.5-3.0millimeters, or in any other range of distances D1 from the PWA 14, asbest shown in FIG. 5. When the electrically conductive extender orconnector 18 is in the articulated position, the top portion or thecontact portion 30 of the electrically conductive extender or connector18 may be 0.0-2.0 millimeters, 1.0-2.0 millimeters, 1.2-2.8 millimeters,1.4-1.6 millimeters, 1.0-1.5 millimeters, 1.5-2.0 millimeters, or in anyother range of distances D2 from the PWA 14, as best shown in FIG. 6.

Illustratively, the force between the electrically conductive extenderor connector 18 and, for example, the metal backing 22 of the electroniccomponent 16 may be relatively small when in the articulated position.In one example, the force between the electrically conductive extenderor connector 18 and the metal backing 22 in the articulated position maybe such that the performance of the display 32 is not affected by thecontact force applied to the metal backing 22 from the electricallyconductive extender or connector 18 (e.g., such that display 32 isdevoid of any color areas or other display of sensitivity to a forceacting on the metal backing 22 of the display).

In some instances, large contact forces or resistances between the metalbacking 22 and the electrically conductive extender or connector 18 maynot be necessary to provide ESD protection. For example, because ESDevents typically have relatively high voltage (e.g., approximately 10 kVor other value) and the electric breakdown of the surrounding air is upto 3 kV/mm (e.g., at dry air), an electrostatic discharge may find itsway to the electrically conductive extender or connector 18 rather thanjump across the space created by the spacer 24 and to an ESD sensitiveelectrical component mounted on the PWA 14, despite the relatively lowcontact force between the metal backing 22 and the electricallyconductive extender or connector 18.

The electrically conductive extender or connector 18 may be made fromany of one or more materials. In some instances, the electricallyconductive extender or connector 18 may be made from an electricallyconductive material, a resilient material, any other material havingdesirable properties, and/or any combination of materials having theseor other properties. For example, the electrically conductive extenderor connector 18 may be made from a phosphor bronze (e.g., a copperalloy), steel, a conductive polymer, or any other suitable material.

In some instances, the electrically conductive extender or connector 18may be used in an illustrative method (S100) of grounding an electroniccomponent 16 of an electronic device or assembly 10, as depicted in FIG.9 (where the steps listed may be performed in the order depicted or inanother order, if at all, as desired). The grounding of the electroniccomponent 16 of the electronic device or assembly 10 may help reduce orprevent electrical damage to one or more electrical components of theelectronic device or assembly 10 in response to an ESD event.

Illustratively, the method (S100) may include electrically connecting anelectrically conductive extender or connector 18 (e.g., a resilientelectrically conductive extender or connector) to a grounding connectionor feature of a PWA 14 of the electronic device or assembly 10. In someinstances, the method (S100) may include mounting the electricallyconductive extender or connector 18 to the surface 15 of the PWA 14(S110). The electrically conductive extender or connector 18 may bemounted to the surface 15 of the PWA 14 with surface mount technology orany other mounting technique. Illustratively, a first portion orconnector portion 26 of the electrically conductive extender orconnector 18 may be mounted directly or indirectly to the PWA 14. Insome cases, the first portion or connector portion 26 of theelectrically conductive extender or connector 18 may be mounted to thePWA 14 via an interference type connector such as a screw typeconnector, a bayonet type of connector, or any other type ofinterference type connector. In some cases, the first portion orconnector portion 26 may be soldered to the surface 15 of the PWA 14. Inany event, the electrically conductive extender or connector 18 may bemounted such that the second portion or spring portion 28 thereof mayextend away from the surface 15 of the PWA 14 and toward the electroniccomponent 16.

In some instances, the method may include providing a spacer 24 betweenthe electronic component 16 and the PWA 14 (S112) and situating theelectronic component 16 adjacent the spacer 24 (S114). In one example ofsituating the electronic component 16 adjacent the spacer 24 (S114), theelectronic component 16 may be situated such that the electricallyconductive extender or connector 18 may extend from the PWA 14, throughan opening 25 in the spacer 24, and make electrical and mechanicalcontact with a metal backing 22 or other electrically conductive featureof the electronic component 16. In this example, the electricallyconductive extender or connector 18 may be in a flexed or otherconfiguration such that it exerts a spring force against the metalbacking 22 or other electrically conductive feature of the electroniccomponent 16. In some cases, the spring force of the electricallyconductive extender or connector 18 exerted on the metal backing 22 orother electrically conductive feature of the electronic component 16 maybe configured and/or set to maintain an electrical connection with themetal backing 22 or other electrically conductive feature of theelectronic component 16. The spring force exerted by the electricallyconductive extender or connector 18 may maintain an electricalconnection with the metal backing 22 or other electrically conductivefeature of the electronic component 16 over a range of spacing between asurface 15 of the PWA 14 and the metal backing 22 of the electroniccomponent 16. Illustratively, the range of spacing may be 0.0-3.0millimeters, 0.0-2.8 millimeters, 0.0-2.6 millimeters, 0.0-2.5millimeters, 0-2.0 millimeters or any other range of spacing between thePWA 14 and the electronic component 16.

In some instances, the method (S100) may include securing the PWA 14,the spacer 24, and the electronic component 16 together to form asub-assembly 19 (S116) (see FIGS. 3-4). Securing the PWA 14, the spacer24, and the electronic component 16 together may be performed using anyconnecting technique and/or connecting features, as desired. Forexample, the spacer 24 may clip to the PWA 14 and the electroniccomponent 16, the spacer 24 may be glued to the PWA 14 and theelectronic component 16, or the PWA 14, the spacer 24, and theelectronic component 16 may be connected in any other manner as desiredto form a sub-assembly 19 (see FIG. 4).

Illustratively, the mounting of the electrically conductive extender orconnector 18 to the PWA 14 may include performing the mounting before orafter the sub-assembly 19 is assembled. When mounted before, the contactportion 30 of the electrically conductive extender or connector 18 maymove laterally along the surface 15 of the metal backing 22 as theelectronic component 16 is moved toward the PWA 14 and as theelectrically conductive extender or connector 18 moves from the originalposition (see FIG. 5) to the articulated position (see FIG. 6). In somecases, the lateral motion may help the contact portion 30 of theelectrically conductive extender or connector 18 make a good electricalcontact with the metal backing 22 of the electronic component 16. Asbest shown in FIGS. 2, and 4-6, in some instances, the electricallyconductive extender or connector 18 may be mounted to the PWA 14 suchthat it extends through an opening 25 in the spacer 24.

In instances where the electronic component 16 is a display 32 or otherelectronic component 16 that may produce heat, the display 32 or otherelectronic component 16 may be an unintended heat generator, which mayheat and/or influence thermistors located at the PWA 14, if suchthermistors are present. The spacer 24 may be configured to provide anair gap between the display 32 and the PWA 14 due to its, optional,web-like configuration. The web-like configuration may limit the heattransfer to the PWA 14 from the display 32, while maintaining an overallthin profile of the electronic assembly 10. Further, to prevent directheat transfer to the thermistors (if present) on the PWA 14 through thematerial of the spacer 24, the material of the spacer 24 may be cut awayin, around and/or over any such thermistors.

The electronic assembly 10 may have internal, unintended heat sources(e.g., the display 32, electronic component on the PWA 14, and/or otherunintended heat sources) that may affect the ability of the electronicassembly 10 (e.g., a thermostat as shown in FIGS. 1-43) to accuratelysense an ambient temperature. Generally, the internal heat generated byelectronic components of the electronic assembly 10 may be related tothe input voltage of the electronic assembly 10. In some instances, theinput voltage may vary, which may cause the internal temperatures tosimilarly vary regardless of the actual ambient temperature.Additionally, or alternatively, initial conditions of the electronicdevice (e.g., before, during, and/or after powering up the electronicdevice of the electronic assembly 10 or a feature thereof) may affectsensing of the ambient temperature. Illustratively, “powering up” mayrefer to any time a microprocessor of the electronic assembly 10 comesout of reset or powers on after being powered down (e.g., any time themicroprocessor receives power after not receiving power, after an errorrecover reset, after a self-imposed test, etc.).

An example of when an initial condition may affect sensing of theambient temperature may include when an electronic device 10 is poweredup after it has been in an OFF state for an amount of time such that thewhole device may have cooled down/warmed up to the surroundingtemperature. On the other hand, if the electronic device is quicklyre-powered or re-started, the electronic device may not have cooleddown/warmed up from its operating temperature. Further, in someinstances, where the electronic device was forced into restarting, theelectronic device may not have immediate access to temperature historiesand has to start temperature compensation for unintended heat over. Allof these considerations may affect the sensing of an ambient temperatureand the ability of the electronic assembly 10 to compensate a sensedambient temperature for unintended heat sources inside of the housing.

A temperature compensation model may be developed for steady stateconditions (e.g., when unintended heat within an electronic devicereaches a steady state, that is, when the electronic device has beenpowered on for a period of time post-start up). Further, it has beenfound that using the temperature compensation model that was developedfor steady state conditions to calculate compensated sensed ambienttemperatures at initial startup (e.g., during an initial transientperiod), may result in providing sensed temperatures that representrelatively large errors from the actual ambient temperature.

Illustratively, to increase ambient temperature estimation accuracyand/or for other purposes, the electronic assembly 10 may use acompensation method upon powering up the electronic device (e.g. duringa transient power state) that differs from a compensation method usedafter running the electronic device for a period of time (e.g. during asteady power state). For example, the electronic assembly 10 may beconfigured to read an input voltage and/or sense other conditions anduse the input voltage levels and/or other sensed conditions intemperature compensation models to provide offsets configured to be usedto provide calculated compensated ambient temperatures for use by theelectronic assembly 10. Other sensed conditions may include, but are notlimited to, an amount of time a screen of the thermostat has been litover a period of time, a signal from one or more thermistors in thehousing, a radio activity status, an LED status, and a power level atuser interface buttons.

Using two or more temperature compensation models (which may or may notbe combined to form a single model) may increase the accuracy oftemperature compensation. For example, a first model may be used toaccurately resolve or compensate a sensed temperature for initial and/ortransient conditions, where this first model may or may not accuratelycompensate temperatures during steady states, and a second model may beused to accurately resolve or compensate a sensed temperature for steadystate conditions (e.g. at a time post powering up), where the secondmodel may or may not accurately compensate temperatures during initialtransient conditions. In some instances, the two or more models may beused concurrently, such that the initial model may fade out (e.g. may beweighted less) as time and/or voltage input or other conditions changeand the second or further model fades in (e.g. may be weighted more) astime and/or voltage input or other conditions change. Such a combinationof compensation models/methods may result in more accurate compensationfor sensed temperature calculations under different electronic assembly10 operating conditions.

It is contemplated that a first “transient” temperature compensationmodel may be used during any transient period, and not just during aninitial power up of the electronic assembly 10. For example, in somecases, the display 32 may consume relatively large amounts of power, andthus generate a relatively large amount of heat, when activated by auser. Moreover, the display 32 may consume a relatively lower amount ofpower when in a sleep mode. It is contemplated that a first “transient”temperature compensation model may be used during the transient periods,such as for a period after the user activates the display 32 and/or fora period after the display 32 returns to a sleep mode. A second “steadystate” temperature compensation model may be used during steady stateperiods between the transient periods.

Illustratively, a method 220, as shown in FIG. 43, may be utilized tocompensate a temperature reading of an electronic assembly 10 (e.g., athermostat, etc.), wherein the electronic assembly 10 may include ahousing 12 and one or more temperature sensors for sensing a temperaturewithin the housing 12. In some instances, a processor and/or memory ofan electronic assembly may perform compensation of a temperature readingor sensed temperature by the electronic assembly 10.

The method 220 may include sensing 222 a temperature using the one ormore temperature sensors of the electronic assembly 10. In the method220 the sensed temperature may be compensated by a plurality oftemperature compensation models. In one example, the sensed temperaturemay be compensated 224 with a first temperature compensation model andthe sensed temperature may be compensated 226 with a second temperaturecompensation model. During compensation of the sensed temperature, themethod 220 may include transitioning 228 through two or more of theplurality of temperature compensation models. In one example, thetransitioning 228 may include transitioning from compensating the sensedtemperature with the first temperature compensation model tocompensating the sensed temperature with the second temperaturecompensation. In some instances, the transitioning feature 228 of themethod 220 may include transitioning over time and/or independent of thesensed temperature and/or any other sensed temperature.

In some instances, weights may be applied to the temperaturecompensation models to facilitate transitioning from compensating thesensed temperature with the first temperature compensation model tocompensating the sensed temperature with the second temperaturecompensation model. Illustratively, the weighting of the temperaturecompensation models with respect to one another may be adjusted overtime and/or as a function of some other variable. In one example, whenthe temperature compensation models are weighted with respect to oneanother and/or over time, the sensed temperature may be compensated withtwo or more compensation models simultaneously.

In instances when the sensed temperature is compensated by a firsttemperature compensation model and a second temperature compensationmodel, weights applied to the temperature compensation models may beadjusted over time such that the first temperature compensation modelmay be more heavily weighted than the second temperature compensationmodel near a time of an initial power on of the electronic assembly 10and the second temperature compensation model may be more heavily weightnear a time when the electronic assembly 10 may be reaching a steadystate. In one example, a weight that is adjusted over time or thatchanges over time may be applied to a first temperature compensationmodel (e.g. an initial condition or transient temperature compensationmodel), where the weight may have a greater weight at a time of poweringup of the electronic assembly 10 than at a time of powering up plus aperiod of time. Additionally, or alternatively, a weight that isadjusted over time or that changes over time may be applied to a secondtemperature compensation model (e.g., a steady state temperaturecompensation model), where the weight may have a greater weight at atime of powering on plus a period of time than at a time of powering onof the electronic assembly 10.

FIG. 42 depicts a schematic graph 200, with temperature 202 on they-axis and time 204 on the x-axis, of a compensated sensed temperature,where the sensed temperature is compensated with only a first (e.g., atransient, startup, power up, and/or initial) temperature compensationmodel 210, with only a second (e.g., an original or steady state)temperature compensation model 208, and with a blended temperaturecompensation model 206 combining the first and second temperaturecompensation models 210, 208. In FIG. 42, the illustrated temperaturefrom the blended temperature compensation model 206 is a result ofweighting the first temperature compensation model 210 and the secondtemperature compensation model 208 with respect to one another andmodifying the weights over time.

In the example of FIG. 42, at time=0 minutes, the weight of the firsttemperature compensation model 210 is 1 and the weight of the secondtemperature compensation model 208 is 0, whereas at time=112 minutes theweight of the first temperature compensation model 210 is 0 and theweight of the second temperature compensation model 208 is 1. In thisexample, a time for the transition from the first temperaturecompensation model 210 to the second temperature compensation model 208is one hundred twelve (112) minutes, and in the blended temperaturecompensation model 206, the weights are linearly transitioned from thefirst temperature compensation model 210 to the second temperaturecompensation model 208 over the one hundred twelve (112) minutetransition period. Thus, when the blended temperature compensationequation is utilized to compensate a sensed temperature, at time=0minutes the compensated temperature from the blended temperaturecompensation model 206 equals the compensated temperature of the firsttemperature compensation model 210 and the at time=112 minutes thecompensated temperature from the blended temperature compensation model206 equals the compensated temperature of the second temperaturecompensation model 208.

The temperature compensation models may be weighted with respect to oneanother as a function of time and the weights may be adjusted over timein any manner to facilitate transitioning from one temperaturecompensation model to another temperature compensation model. In oneinstance, as in the example shown in FIG. 42, the weights applied to thetemperature compensation models may be adjusted linearly over a setperiod of time (e.g., a set transition period of time). Alternatively,or in addition, transitioning from one temperature compensation model toanother temperature compensation model over time may be accomplished byadjusting the weights associated with the temperature compensationmodels in a non-linear manner over a time period.

In one illustrative example of compensating a sensed temperature, anequation or function may be utilized to transition from a firsttemperature compensation model, F_(first), (e.g. an initial condition ortransient temperature compensation model) to a second temperaturecompensation model, F_(second), (e.g., a steady state temperaturecompensation model). The equation may comprise:

Temp_(comp) =F _(blend)(TIME)=((T−TIME)/T)*F _(first)+(TIME/T)*F_(second)

wherein:

-   -   T=time of transition (e.g., a predetermined time of transition,        which may be determined for a particular electronic assembly 10        or other time of transition) from initial power up of the        electronic assembly to steady state of the electronic assembly;    -   TIME=the time from initial power up, where TIME=0;    -   F_(first)=function of the first temperature compensation model        (e.g., a temperature compensation model based on multiple input        sources that may be configured to compensate a sensed        temperature during a variety of electronic assembly 10 startup        or power up conditions);    -   F_(second)=function of the second temperature compensation model        (e.g., a temperature compensation model based on multiple input        sources that may be configured to compensate a sensed        temperature at steady state conditions of the electronic        assembly 10);    -   F_(blend)=Function resulting in a compensated sensed temperature        at a time=TIME; and    -   Temp_(comp)=compensated temperature for a sensed temperature.        Such an illustrative equation may allow the weights associated        with the first and second temperature compensation models to be        adjusted over time (e.g., linearly adjusted over time) to        provide an accurate compensated sensed temperature for the        purpose of accounting for unintended heat sources and/or        conditions. The multiple inputs or variables may include, but        are not limited to, a voltage level at the thermostat, an amount        of time a screen of the thermostat has been lit over a period of        time, a signal from one or more thermistors in the housing, a        radio activity status, an LED status, a power level at user        interface buttons, and/or any other variable or input that may        affect the temperature at an electronic assembly 10.

Although weighting of temperature compensation models is primarilydiscussed herein with respect to weighting over time in a linear manner,it is contemplated other adjustments of weights of the temperaturecompensation models may be utilized. For example, the weights may beapplied to the temperature compensation models on a non-linear basis(e.g., on an exponential or other basis), such that the weights areadjusted slowly over time at times near the startup and near the steadystate of the electronic assembly 10, but the weights are adjustedrelatively rapidly in between times near startup and times near steadystate of the electronic assembly 10. Alternatively, the weights may beapplied to the temperature compensation models such that the weights areadjusted rapidly over time at times near the startup and near the steadystate of the electronic assembly 10, the weights are adjusted relativelyslowly in between times near startup and times near steady state of theelectronic assembly 10.

Referring now to FIG. 13, the housing 12 may have a front cover 38. Inthe example shown, the front cover 38 may generally be a frame forreceiving an electronic component (e.g., a touch screen component orother component or device) and may have an opening 52 extendingtherethrough, as best shown in FIGS. 13-15, 17, and 21. In someinstances, the front cover 38 may include one or more front cover walls56, where the front cover walls 56 may be configured to mate withsurfaces of a back cover 36 of the housing 12 and/or the spacer 24, asshown in for example FIGS. 16A and 16B. Similar to the spacer walls 42,the front cover walls 56 may help define an ESD path 44 for the ESDevents, as seen in FIG. 15, which may enter the housing 12 through a gapin the housing 12 at a parting line 40 or at any other location.

It is known that ESDs travel through a medium or travel along surfacesby following the shortest possible ESD path 44 with the least resistancewhen discharged from a user or other device or source. A parting linebetween portions of the housing of an electronic device may be asuitable inlet through which ESD may travel to the inside of theelectronic device. For example, where the front cover 38 and the backcover 36 of the housing 12 meet, a parting line 40 may be formed, asbest shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, and it has been found that ESDs maytravel to the inside of the electronic assembly 10 through this partingline 40.

During testing, it was determined that ESDs may carry voltage of up toabout 15 kilovolts (kV) or more (although, voltage of an ESD may varygreatly), which is a relatively high voltage. Generally, the electricbreakdown strength of dry air in substantially ideal conditions isapproximate 3 kV/millimeter (mm). This means that in ideal conditions, agap having a distance greater than 5 mm is needed to prevent a dischargedirectly from an electronic component 16 to the PWA 14. In someinstances, the ESD may not dissipate as expected due to materials (e.g.,mating walls, dirt, humidity) or other factors slowing the dissipationof the ESD and thus, the ESD may travel farther than it is expected totravel in ideal conditions.

As a result of ESDs traveling farther than they would be expected totravel in ideal conditions, it is desirable to extend the ESDs' path ofleast resistance with the goal of the ESD dissipating prior to itreaching any electronic components of the electronic assembly 10. Asshown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, the parting line 40, which may provide anavenue through which ESDs make their path to an interior of the of theelectronic assembly 10 to the closest electrically sensitive area, maybe extended a distance by the placement of the mating walls of theelectronic assembly (e.g., the front cover 38, the back cover 36, andthe spacer walls 42 of spacer 24).

For example, the spacer 24 may be positioned within the housing 12, suchthat the spacer 24 contacts the front cover 38 and the back cover 36.Such positioning of the mating surfaces may extend the distance the ESDmust travel to contact an electrically sensitive area within the housing12 to a distance equal to a length of protective walls 56 of the frontcover 38 starting at a gap at an outer surface of the housing 12 betweenthe front cover 38 and the back cover 36 plus a length of the spacerwalls 42. In some illustrative instances, the extended distance the ESDmay have to travel to an electrically sensitive area may be set at least5 mm, at least 8 mm, at least 10 mm, or other distances of travelgreater than 10 mm.

In some instances, and as disclosed further herein, the spacer 24 may besituated between the electronic component 16 and the PWA 14, and in somecases, may engage both the facing surfaces of the electronic component16 and the PWA 14. When the spacer 24 is situated between the electroniccomponent 16 and the PWA 14, a component on the PWA 14 may extendthrough an opening 25 in the spacer 24. For example, the electricallyconductive extender or connector 18 extending from the PWA 14 may extendthrough an opening 25 in the spacer 24, as shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 6. Inone example, the electrically conductive extender or connector 18 mayextend from the PWA 14, through an opening 25 in the spacer 24, and maymechanically engage and electrically connect to the metal backing 22 ofthe electronic component 16, as best shown in FIG. 6.

In some instances, the front cover walls 56 of the front cover 38 may beconfigured to engage and/or align other features of the electronicassembly 10. For example, wall extensions 58 may extend from the frontcover walls 56 or other portions of the front cover 38 and interact withthe PWA 14 or other feature to align the PWA 14 within housing 12, andin some cases, to at least partially secure the PWA 14 within the frontcover 38. Additionally, or alternatively, a clip 60 of the front cover38 may extend from a base 39 of the front cover 38 and optionally engageand/or align the PWA with the front cover 38. Further, in someinstances, the front cover walls 56 may have beveled or chamferedoutside edges (e.g. beveled or chamfered vertical edges when theelectronic assembly 10 is attached to a wall structure), as shown inFIG. 15) that may engage and/or abut mating chamfered or beveled wallsof the back cover 36, as shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B.

Generally, the features of the electronic assembly 10 may be configuredto give the electronic assembly 10 a slimming look and a thin orminimalist configuration. In some instances, and as best shown in FIGS.24-25, one or more terminal blocks 70 that may receive electrical wiringconfigured to connect power and/or control signals to the electronicassembly 10 may be positioned on a wall plate 80 and recessed into thehousing 12 so as to not extend the profile of the electronic assembly 10away from the wall. Despite being designed to create a thin profile, theelectronic assembly 10 may be configured to allow plastic material tosurround all electronics of the electronic assembly 10 and preventsubstantially all of the electronics from being seen by a user fromoutside of the electronic assembly 10.

In some instances where the electronic component 16 may be or mayinclude a display 32 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or otherdisplay, where the display 32 may be a color display or other display),the front cover 38 may be or may include a display holder (e.g., an LCDdisplay holder or other display holder). In such instances, and possiblyother instances, the electronic assembly's 10 foot print and/orcomponents may be configured around the size of the display 32. Forexample, the display 32 may include a display having an approximatediagonal D of 4.3 inches with a height H of approximately 3 inches and awidth W of approximate 4 inches, as best shown FIG. 19. The display 32of the electronic component 16 may have other dimensions, as desired.

In some examples, where the size of the display 32 is approximately 4.3inches diagonal (approximately 4 inches wide and 3 inches tall), the PCB34 of the PWA 14 may be slightly taller than three inches. This extralength of the PCB 34 may accommodate an antenna (e.g., a Wifi antenna orother antenna) that would otherwise be shielded or blocked by metalbacking 22 of the electronic component 16 (e.g. display 32). As aresult, the base size of the PCB 34 may be approximately 4 inches wideand 3.35 inches tall, and all of the electronics may be consolidatedand/or packaged close together to fit within this footprint.Additionally, or alternatively, the electronics may be packaged alongwith the display 32, which may allow the device to have a thin profile.

Further, the opening 52 of the front cover 38 may be sized to allow auser to view and/or interact with the display 32 or other electroniccomponent 16, while protecting the electronic component 16. For example,the opening 52 in the front cover 38 may be sized to allow free accessto a touch pad of the electronic component 16, sized to cover the visualarea viewing angles, sized to protect the PWA against contamination,sized to prevent the cover from interacting with an active touch padarea of the electronic component 16, and/or sized for any other purpose.

In some illustrative instances, the front cover 38 may be configured toaccept the electronic component in the X and Y directions, as shown inFIGS. 21-23, in a tight to loose fit. In the Z direction, the fit may betight to prevent the electronic component 16 from rattling while a userinteracts with the electronic assembly 10. Such a tight fit in the Zdirection may be facilitated by using the gasket 106, which may compressto fill any extra space resulting from manufacturing tolerances of thefront cover wall 56 and the front cover 38.

In some instances, the front cover 38 may have a bezel formed at leastpartially from the base 39 that wraps around the product and which mayallow a user to contact the electronic assembly 10 without interactingwith the electronic component 16 (e.g., the display 32). Further, thefront cover 38 may be a front window assembly (FWA) front cover 100 ofthe housing 12, as best shown in FIG. 17. The FWA front cover 100 mayoperate like a rigid display 32 and PWA 14 holder, such that the FWAfront cover 100, the display 32 and the PWA 14 may be placed in thefinal electronic assembly 10 as a single sub-assembly 110.

The FWA front cover 100 may be made from a front window 102, adhesivelayer 104, front cover 38 (e.g., a display holder), and gasket 106(e.g., a sealing gasket or other gasket), as best shown in FIG. 17-20.These parts may be supplied to an assembly line as a single part,separate parts, or a combination of single parts and combined parts, asdesired.

The front cover 38 or display holder may include a recess 53 forreceiving at least part of the display 32 (see, FIG. 19). When the frontcover 38 or display holder receives the display 32, the gasket 106 maybe positioned between the front cover 38 and the display 32 (e.g., thefront side of the display 32). The display 32 may be placed within thefront cover 38 of the FWA front cover 100 through the recess 53 of thefront cover 38 or display holder such that the front cover or displayholder may extend adjacent part of the front side of the display 32 andadjacent at least part of the side walls of the display 32.

The spacer 24 may be positioned adjacent the display 32, and thesub-assembly 110 may be closed by adding the PWA 14 adjacent to thespacer 24 and securing the PWA 14 to the front cover 38 or displayholder adjacent the back side of the display 32 (see, FIG. 20). Such aconfiguration may sandwich the display 32 between the front cover 38 orthe display holder and the PCB 34 of the PWA 14. The term “sandwich” or“sandwiched”, as used herein, means positioned between or positioned inany other similar position.

The PCB 34 of the PWA 14 may include a front side configured to face thefront cover 38 or display holder and/or the display 32, a back sideopposite the front side, and side walls extending between the front sideand the back side. The spacer 24 may have spacer side walls 42 that,when the spacer 24 is positioned between the PCB 34 and the display 32,may extend adjacent to at least part of the side walls of the PCB 34and/or beyond the back side of the PCB 34, when desired.

In some instances, the display 32, spacer 24, and PWA 14 may be held inposition in the sub-assembly 110 with one or more features of the frontcover 38 or display holder, such as one or more hinges or wallextensions 58 (e.g., releasable hinges or wall extensions), one or morelatches or clips 60 extending from the base 39 of the front cover 38,and/or one or more other features. In one instance, the one or morefeatures of the front cover 38 or display holder may be configured tosandwich the display 32 and the spacer between the front cover 38 ordisplay holder and the PCB 34 of the PWA 14. Alternatively, oradditionally, the hinges or wall extensions 58 of the front cover 38 ordisplay holder may hinge the PCB 34 of the PWA 14 with respect to thefront cover 38 or display holder until the latch(es) or clip(s) 60 latchor clip the PCB 34 of the PWA 14 relative to the front cover 38 ordisplay holder. Further, the sub-assembly 110 may be configured suchthat a flex tail 33 of the display 32 may be inserted into a connector46 on the PWA 14, as best shown in FIG. 23, to place the PWA 14 and thePCB 34 thereof in electrical communication with the display 32.

As discussed, the front cover 38 may receive the display 32 therein. Insome instances, the display 32 (e.g., the front of the display) may restagainst the gasket 106 within the front cover 38. The gasket 106 mayhave several purposes. For example, the gasket 106 may prevent liquidfrom getting into the electronic assembly 10, the gasket 106 may helpcreate a tighter fit for the components of the electronic assembly 10,the gasket 106 may help prevent ESDs from entering the electronicassembly 10, etc.

In some instances, the spacer 24 and the front cover 38 or displayholder may be mating components and may contain several positioningfeatures that do not allow an operator to assemble them in an incorrectorientation. These orientation features include, but are not limited to:ribs 108 in the spacer 24 configured to engage pockets 112 in the frontcover 38 or display holder to assist or help in aligning the spacer 24with the front cover 38 or display holder; grooves in the edges of thespacer 24 and/or the front cover 38; an alignment feature 114 (e.g., arib, a pin, or other alignment feature) of the front cover 38 or displayholder configured to engage an alignment feature 116 (e.g., a pocket, apin hole, or other alignment feature) in the spacer 24 to align thespacer and the front cover or the display holder, as best shown in FIG.19; and/or other positioning features used in any uncombined or combinedmanner, as desired. In addition to facilitating the proper alignment ofthe front cover 38 and the spacer 24, the positioning features may helpprevent the spacer 24 from moving until the PWA 14 is assembled and thesub-assembly 110 may be fully assembled and locked together.

In some instances, the electronic assembly 10 may be at least partiallypowered with a battery 90 (e.g., a coin cell battery or other battery).Illustratively, to structurally facilitate use of the battery 90, theback cover 36 may have a pocket, an opening, or an aperture 37configured to receive the battery 90, as seen in FIG. 29. The pocket,opening, or aperture 37 may be at least partially defined by walls 130of the housing 12 (e.g., walls 130 c shown in FIGS. 27-28). Through thepocket, opening, or aperture 37, the battery 90 may be installeddirectly on a surface of the PCB 34 or other connection with the PWA 14.As shown in FIG. 27, walls 130 c may at least partially form a recess 43for receiving the battery 90 inserted through the pocket, opening, oraperture 37, where the recess 43 and/or the walls 130 c may limit accessto electrical terminals of the PCB 34 from outside or exterior thehousing 12.

An illustrative method of using the battery 90 with the electronicassembly 10 may include inserting the battery 90 through the pocket,opening, or aperture 37 in the back cover 36 of the housing 12. Once thebattery 90 has been placed in the back cover 36, it may be positionedagainst the PCB 34 within the housing 12 and slid down (e.g., in alateral direction) to the recess 43 in the housing 12 and/or to abattery seat region 35 (see, for example, FIG. 29) having electricalterminals for electrically connecting the battery 90 to the PCB 34 whenthe coin cell battery is place in the battery seat region 35. Inaddition to or as an alternative to being electrically connected to thePCB 34, the battery 90 may be removably secured to the PCB 34 when thebattery 90 is at least partially positioned on the battery seat region35.

The battery 90 may extend along a primary plane and when the battery ispositioned in the battery seat region 35, the primary plane of thebattery 90 may be substantially parallel to a surface (e.g., a main ormajor surface 34 a, as shown in FIG. 29) of the PCB 34. The battery seatregion 35 may at least partially overlap with and/or may be at leastpartially offset (e.g., laterally offset) from the pocket, opening, oraperture 37, but the battery 90 may be accessible therethrough whenpositioned at the battery seat region 35. In some instances, the battery90 may be at least partially (e.g., a minor portion that may be lessthan half of the battery 90, a major portion that may be half or more ofthe battery 90, or other portion of the battery 90) covered and/orprotected by the housing 12 when it is positioned within the batteryseat region 35.

In some cases, the battery 90 may be held in place on the PCB 34 by abattery holder 92 (e.g., an electrical terminal on the PCB 34) having acontact and affixed to the PCB 34 and/or the back cover 36 (see, FIGS.29, 32-33). In one example, a negative contact or electrical terminalmay be located at the battery seat region 35 of the PCB 34 and apositive contact or electrical terminal may be formed adjacent (e.g.,over or otherwise adjacent) the battery seat region 35 of the PCB 34with the battery holder 92. Alternatively, the contact polarity may beswitched.

The battery holder 92 may include a mounting portion or mounting region92 a for mounting to the PCB 34 at or adjacent the battery seat region35 (see FIGS. 32-33). Additionally, or alternatively, the battery holder92 may include an elongated spring region that may extend over and/orelectrically contact a battery 90 positioned at least partially on oradjacent the battery seat region 35. In one illustrative example, asshown in FIGS. 32 and 33, the battery holder 92 may be a Z-shapedelectrical terminal, but this is not required.

The battery holder 92 may be an electrical terminal for the battery 90and may be made from electrically conductive material. For example, thebattery holder 92 may be made from sheet metal and bent or otherwiseformed to the desired shape (e.g., Z-shape or other shape) and may beconfigured to contact a positive (or alternatively, a negative side ofthe battery 90). The battery holder 92 may be flexible enough to allowfor battery 90 insertion and/or removal, while still applying pressureon the battery 90 with a required force to help assure proper electricalcontact and maintaining the battery 90 at its position with frictionforces or other forces. Further, the battery holder 92 may be protectedfrom excessive loads by the surrounding material (e.g., plasticmaterial) of the housing 12.

When the battery 90 is correctly installed at the battery seat region35, the force from the battery holder 92 and gravity (e.g., when theelectronic assembly 10 is mounted on a wall or other at least partiallyvertical structure) may help assure that the battery maintains goodelectrical contact with the connection on the PCB 34 and will remain inits desired position during handling of the electronic assembly 10. Suchdesign for battery 90 insertion into and removal from the electronicassembly 10 may simplify the assembly process because the battery may bedelivered as a separate part and installed at an area where theelectronic assembly 10 will be used as opposed to at a manufacturer oroffsite. Additionally, or alternatively, the configuration of theelectronic assembly for battery 90 insertion may facilitate placing andmaintaining the battery 90 within the housing 12 without adjusting anypart of the housing 12.

In the illustrative method of using the battery 90 discussed above, thebattery 90 may be removed by a user with the assistance of a screwdriver94 or other tool, as best shown in FIGS. 30 and 31, or in any othermanner. For example, a user may insert the screwdriver 94 or other toolinto a slot 96 in the back cover 36 of the housing 12. The slot 96 maybe configured to expose a portion of the battery 90 (e.g., an edge ofthe battery 90 when the battery 90 is positioned in the battery seatregion 35). The screwdriver 94 may be slid up along the slot 96 to pushthe battery 90 from below, which may cause the battery 90 to slide upand laterally out from the battery seat region 35 and/or the batteryholder 92 toward the pocket, opening, or aperture 37 in the back cover36 for removal through the pocket, opening, or aperture 37 from thehousing 12 by hand or other tool.

In some instances, the slot 96 may be configured for a particular tool.For example, the slot may be an elongated slot and may be configured toreceive a flat head screw drive. Alternatively, or additionally, otherslot dimensions may be utilized for the slot 96 to accommodate a varietyof tools.

Generally, there may be limited risk of the battery 90 shorting whenremoved with the tool or screwdriver 94 because the slot 96 may notallow the screwdriver 94 or other tool to touch the positive andnegative battery contacts simultaneously. Additionally, oralternatively, the risk of shorting the PWA 14 may be limited by notlocating conductive traces and electrical components on the PWA 14 nearthe slot 96, so that the screwdriver 94 or tool may not contact anyconductive traces and/or electrical components.

Turning now to FIGS. 27 and 28, in some instances, the back cover 36 maybe configured to support the PWA 14 and/or the electronic component 16(e.g., display 32). Supporting the PWA 14 and/or the electroniccomponent 16 from a back side may assist in preventing unexpectedbending of the PWA 14 and/or the electronic component 16 when a user ispressing against the display 32 or other front side features, whichcould contribute to the electronic device malfunctioning.

In one example, the back cover 36 may include an outer shell 73 and oneor more inner walls 130 (e.g., inward extending walls or other innerwalls) that extend from the outer shell 73 toward the PWA 14 to supportthe PWA 14 from the back side when it is fully assembled in theelectronic assembly 10. The inner walls 130 may have one or morefunctions. For example, the inner walls 130 may: provide mechanicalsupport for the PWA 14 and/or the electronic component 16; help toprevent ESDs from progressing to shielded areas of the PWA 14; divide aninner volume between the PWA 14 and the back cover 36 into separatespaces (e.g., pockets and/or areas on the PWA 14) and separate colderareas from warmer areas to assist in improving temperature sensingand/or compensation capabilities such as described in U.S. Pat. No.8,280,637, which is incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, orin addition, the inner walls 130 may have one or more other functionsthat may or may not be combined with the listed functions of the innerwalls 130.

In some instances, the inner walls 130 of the back cover 36 may have oneor more portions. For example, as shown in FIG. 27, the inner walls 130of the back cover 36 may have: a wall portions 130 a configured tosurround the pins 62 on a region of the PWA 14 for connection toterminals 70 in the wall plate 80 (e.g., where the outer shell 73 mayinclude an aperture 71 with wall portions 130 a extending inward towardthe PWA 14 to form a sidewall of the aperture 71 extending substantiallyto the PWA 14), which may help prevent users from contacting electroniccomponents on the PWA 14 other than the pins 62; wall portions 130 bconfigured to form thermistor pockets 132 and surround one or morethermistors or temperature sensors (e.g., a first temperature sensor anda second temperature sensor in a first area and/or a first pocket) onthe PWA 14; wall portions 130 c forming a pocket and/or surrounding thebattery aperture or opening 37 (e.g., where the wall portions 130 c forma sidewall of the battery aperture or opening 37 and provide access to aregion on the PWA 14 (see, for example, the discussion of the regionwith respect to the aperture 71 above) and one or more connectors (e.g.,battery holder 92 or other connectors)), which may help prevent usersfrom contacting other electronic components on the PWA 14 wheninstalling and/or removing the battery 90; wall portions 130 d formingpockets separating warm areas of the PWA 14 (e.g., the first area and/orthe first pocket with air of a first temperature during operation of theelectronic assembly 10) from colder areas of the PWA 14 (e.g., a secondarea and/or second pocket with air of a second temperature that iscooler than the first temperature during operation of the electronicassembly 10), which may improve the temperature sensing and/orcompensating capabilities of the electronic assembly 10; and wallportions 130 e forming pockets and/or surrounding a humidity sensorattached to the PWA (e.g., where the humidity sensor is in one of thefirst pocket, the second pocket, a third pocket, and/or any otherpocket). The regions on the PWA 14 discussed above may be regionsincluding the pins 62, the battery holder 92, and/or is substantiallydevoid of ESD sensitive electronic components, electronic componentsother than one or more connectors such as a pin or battery connector, orany other electronic component.

Further, in some cases, an interior of the back cover 36 may have one ormore alignment feature 136 configured to engage one or more openings inthe PWA 14 and align the back cover 36 with respect to the PWA 14, whichmay be within sub-assembly 110. Additionally, the back cover 36 mayinclude one or more PWA supports 134, which may have the dual purpose ofproviding a testing opening through back cover 36.

With the above illustrative structure of the back cover 36, the wallportions 130 (e.g., wall portions 130 a-130 e) may help support PWA 14by touching or contacting a back side of the PWA 14 at some or at leastsubstantially all of the positions atop the wall portions 130 when theprinted circuit board is enclosed in the housing 12. In some instances,the wall portions 130 may facilitate ESD shielding by, for example,walling off a central opening 71 for connecting pins 62 to terminal 70on a wall plate 80. Additionally, or alternatively, the wall portions130 may improve temperature sensing accuracy by at least partiallyseparating cold areas (e.g., an area surrounding the battery 90) wherethere are no, or a limited number of, components generating unintendedheat, from other areas. In the cold areas of the PWA 14 as defined, forexample, by the wall portions 130 d of the back cover 36, one or morethermistors and/or one or more humidity sensors may be positioned so asto not be affected so much by heat creating electronic components on thePWA 14.

As indicated by the placement of thermistor pockets 132 in the backcover 36, the thermistors on the PWA 14 may be located at top and bottomedges (or in some cases opposite edges) of the PWA 14. To furtherisolate at least some of the thermistors on the PWA 14 from unintendedheat, the wall portions 130 of the thermistor pockets 132 maysubstantially entirely surround a thermistor and contact the surface ofthe PWA 14. Such direct contact between the wall portions 130 b and thePWA 14 may assist in isolating the thermistor pockets 132. Dividing theinner volume between the PWA 14 and the back cover 36 into separatespaces (e.g., pockets and/or areas on the PWA 14) and separate colderareas from warmer areas may assist in temperature sensing and/orcompensation capabilities of the electronic device such as described inU.S. Pat. No. 8,280,637, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Additionally, or alternatively, the wall portions 130 d surrounding ahumidity sensor at the bottom of the PWA 14 may protect the humiditysensor and have vents 138 to help bring humidity changes to thiscompartment. In some illustrative instances, including optionally theexamples above, the first thermistor pocket and the second thermistorpocket may be free from air vents 138 through the housing 12 to theexternal environment. The third pocket, which may house the humiditysensor, may include an air vent 138 extending through the housing 12 toan exterior environment. As a result of these features and others, theback cover 36 may be configured to support the PWA 14 and/or theelectronic component 16, protect features on the PWA 14, and provide anelectronic assembly 10 that has robust and accurate electronic sensingcapabilities.

In some instances, the housing 12, particularly the front cover 38 andthe back cover 36, may be formed by any desirable manufacturing processand may be made from any desirable material. For example, the housing 12may be molded and made from a plastic material. Alternatively, or inaddition, the housing may be made from a different mechanical processand/or a different material.

As shown in FIGS. 24-26C, the back cover 36 (e.g., a back side of ahousing 12 having a back side and a front side) may engage a wall plate80 (e.g., in a releasably connectable manner), where the wall plate 80may be a portion of the electronic assembly that is used to hang theelectronic assembly 10 (e.g., a thermostat) on a wall or otherstructure. In some cases, the wall plate 80 may have a perimeter definedor at least partially defined by side walls 86, and in some cases, theengaged back cover 36 may partially or substantially enclose the wallplate 80.

In some instances, the wall plate 80 may be secured to a wall or otherstructure with screws 82 or other fastening mechanisms. The wall plate80 may include one or more apertures 81 extending through the wall plate80 that are configured to receive one or more screws or other fasteningmechanisms. Where screws 82 are used to fasten the wall plate 80 to awall or other structure, it is contemplated that the wall plate 80and/or the back cover 36 may include pockets 84 (e.g. relief features)in the wall plate 80 and/or pockets 63 (e.g., relief features) in theback cover 36 to accommodate a portion of a screw head to help ensurethe heads of the screws 82 do not act as a limiting factor in thethinness or thickness of the electronic assembly 10. In instances wherethere are pockets 84 in the wall plate 80 and pockets 63 in the backcover, the pockets 84, 63 may be aligned with one another.

The housing 12 (e.g., the back cover 36 or other portion of the housing12) and the wall plate 80 may be provided and/or configured such thatthe housing 12 and the wall plate 80 initially engage one another, withthe wall plate 80 misaligned relative to the housing 12. As the wallplate 80 and the housing 12 are moved (e.g., slid or otherwise guided)together or toward one another, the housing 12 and wall plate 80 may beguided into alignment with one another.

In some instances, the back cover 36 may have a raised perimeter 64 atleast partially defining a recess that is configured to accept and/orreceive at least a part or portion of the wall plate 80, where therecess may include a recess back wall 65. The recess may have a depthand the wall plate 80 may have a thickness such that the volume of therecess of the housing 12 may receive at least a majority of thethickness of the wall plate 80. Alternatively, or in addition, the wallplate 80 may have a raised portion in a front wall 91 that at leastpartially defines a recess that is configured to accept and/or receiveat least a part or portion of the back cover 36 or other portions of thehousing 12, where the recess may include a recessed front wall (notexplicitly shown).

Although the engaging and aligning related features are discussed hereinwith respect to the recess being positioned in the back cover 36 ofhousing 12, similar engaging and/or aligning related features may beincorporated into the electronic assembly 10 having a recess in the wallplate 80 that receives at least part of the back cover 36 or otherportion of the housing 12.

Referring to FIGS. 24-25, the raised perimeter 64 of the back cover 36may have recess side walls 66 that may correspond with wall plate sidewalls 86 of the wall plate 80, and may allow at least a part or portionof the side walls 86 of the wall plate 80 to mate with the recess sidewalls 66 of the back cover 36 of the housing 12. In some cases, the sidewalls 86 of the wall plate 80 are tilted or slanted at an angle relativeto the back wall 65, and the recess side walls 66 of the back cover 36may be similarly titled or slanted at an angle to mate with the sidewalls 86 of the wall plate 80. More generally, in some instances, therecess side walls 66 may have a first perimeter 67 adjacent the recessedback wall 65 and a second perimeter 69 toward the back side of thehousing 12 and the wall plate 80, where the second perimeter 69 islarger than the first perimeter 67. Likewise, the side walls 86 of thewall plate 80 may have a first perimeter 87 adjacent the housing 12 whenthe wall plate 80 is engaging the housing 12 and a second perimeter 89closer to a mounting surface 85 of the wall plate than the firstperimeter, where the second perimeter 89 is larger than the firstperimeter 87 (see, for example, FIG. 26B).

In some cases, the respective walls 66, 86 may be used to self align theback cover 36 with the wall plate 80. For example, in some instances,the side walls 66 of the housing and the side walls 86 of the wall plate80 may be configured such that the recess in the back of the housing 12may receive the wall plate 80 with the wall plate 80 misaligned relativeto the housing 12, and then as the housing 12 is moved toward the wallplate 80, the side walls 66 of the housing and the side walls 86 of thewall plate 80 progressively further align the housing 12 with the wallplate 80.

In a similar manner, it is contemplated that a recess in the wall plate80 (not explicitly shown) in conjunction with the back cover 36 or otherportion of the housing 12 may be configured such that the recess of thewall plate 80 may initially receive the back cover 36 or other portionof the housing 12 with the wall plate misaligned relative to the backcover 36 or other portion of the housing 12, and then progressivelyfurther align the back cover 36 or other portion of the housing 12 withthe wall plate 80 as the back cover 36 or other portion of the housing12 are moved closer to one another.

A method of securing a back cover of a housing 12 and a wall plate 80may include moving the wall plate 80 into engagement with the back cover36 (or back side of the housing 12) and sliding an aligning surface ofthe wall plate 80 (e.g., tilted, slanted, angled, beveled, chamferedside walls 86) along an aligning surface of the housing (e.g., tilted,slanted, angled, beveled, chamfered side walls 66) to align the wallplate 80 with the housing 12 as the wall plate 80 is moved furthertowards the housing 12.

The tilted, slanted, angled, beveled, or chamfered side walls 66, 86 maybe angled at any angle or have any other suitable configuration. Forexample, the side walls 66, 86 may be angled at between zero (0) degreesand ninety (90) degrees, ten (10) degrees and eighty (80) degrees,twenty (20) degrees and seventy (70) degrees, thirty (30) degrees andsixty (60) degrees, forty (40) degrees and fifty (50) degrees relativeto the recess back wall 65 or the mounting surface 85, respectively. Inone illustrative example, the side walls 66, 86 may be angled at aforty-five (45) degree angle with respect to the recess back wall 65 orthe mounting surface 85, respectively. Alternatively, the side walls 66,86 may have different angles with respect to one another relative to therespective recess back wall 65 or the mounting surface 85.

In some instances, the back cover 36 may be further configured to have alimited profile. For example, the side walls 68 of the back cover 36 mayextend inward, such that the front of the back cover 36 that is adjacentthe front cover 38 defines a larger circumference/perimeter than acircumference/perimeter defined by a back of the back cover 36 that isadjacent the wall plate 80.

Referring now to FIGS. 34A and 34B, electronic assemblies 10 having adisplay 32 and/or other circuitry may need robust electricalconnection(s) for bringing power thereto. As shown in FIGS. 34A and 34B,terminals or terminal assembly 70 (e.g., electrical terminals orelectrical terminal blocks) may be built into a wall plate 80 or otherfeature of the electronic assembly 10. Illustratively, the terminals 70(e.g., one terminal 70, two terminals 70, as shown in FIG. 24, or moreterminals 70) may be positioned within the wall plate 80 such that whenthe housing 12 of the electronic assembly 10 is attached to the wallplate 80, pins 62 affixed to the PCB 34 of the PWA 14 (where the pins 62may be connected to the PCB 34 via a soldering technique or othermounting technique) may removably electrically connect to the terminals70 (e.g., each pin 62 may engage a separate terminal 70 or multiple pins62 may engage a single terminal). As seen in FIG. 35, in some instances,two terminals 70 (e.g., a first terminal and a second terminal) may beconfigured to engage plastic or other material of the wall plate 80, andpins 62 connected to the PCB 34 (not shown) may thereafter engage theterminals 70 (e.g., a first pin 62 may engage a first terminal 70 and asecond pin 62 may engage a second terminal 70).

In some instances, the terminals 70 may define a cage 72 (made of metalor other electrically conductive material), a screw 74, and a nut 76, asbest shown in FIGS. 36-38. As discussed above, the terminals 70 may besupported by the material (e.g., plastic or other material) of the wallplate 80 and one or more terminals 70 (e.g., a single terminal) may beplaced in (e.g., slid in, snapped in, and/or otherwise positioned in)each of one or more pockets, recesses, or openings 83 in the wall plate80.

The cage 72 of the terminal 70 may include a first portion 72 a havingan area for receiving a screw 74 and a nut 76. In some cases, the firstportion 72 a of the cage 72 may have a first side 75 a, an opposingsecond side 75 b and a third side 75 c. In some cases, the first side 75a, the second side 75 b and the third side 75 c of the first portion 72a of the cage 72 may be formed from a single piece of bent metal.

The first portion 72 a of the cage 72 may be used for connecting a wire.The wire may, for example, power the electronic assembly 10 orcommunicate a control signal. In some cases, a wire may be wrappedaround the screw 74 by an installer, and then the screw 74 may betightened to secure the wire between the head of the screw and anoutside surface of the third side 75 c of the first portion 72 a of thecage 72. Alternatively, a wire may be inserted between the nut 76 andthe first portion 72 a of the cage 72 by the installer, and then thescrew 74 may be tightened to secure the wire between the nut 76 and aninside surface of the third side 75 c of the first portion 72 a of thecage 72.

As noted above, the first portion 72 a of the cage 72 may be configuredto receive an end of a wire (e.g., a power or control wire). A secondportion 72 b of the cage 72 may be positioned adjacent the first portion72 a of the cage 72. The second portion 72 b of the cage 72 may beformed from, or have, flange 78 that may be configured to receive and/orto be placed in electrical contact with the pins 62 soldered, orotherwise connected to, the PCB 34 or other feature of the PWA 14.Flange 78 of the second portion 72 b of the cage 72 may be configured tofit within openings 83 in the wall plate 80 that are configured toreceive the second portion 72 b of the cage 72 (see, for example, FIG.35). The configuration of the first portion 72 a and the second portion72 b of the cage 72 may be configured to electrically connect a pin 62to a wire.

In some cases, the cage 72 of the terminal 70 may include a latch 79(e.g., a one-way latch, a two-way latch, etc.), as best shown in FIG.38. Illustratively, the latch 79 may be configured to engage (e.g. slideinto, snap into, etc.) a hole 88 (e.g., a latching hole or other hole)in the wall plate 80, as best shown in FIG. 34B, or connect to the wallplate 80 in any other manner after or as the terminal 70 is positionedin the opening 83 of the wall plate 80. In one example, the latch 79 maysnap into the hole 88 in the wall plate 80 and lock the terminal 70 inthe opening 83 of the wall plate 80 by preventing removal of theterminal.

Illustratively, the cage 72 may be formed form any combination ofelectrically conductive materials. For example, the cage 72 may beformed from one or more metal and in one example, the cage 72 may beformed from phosphor bronze, a phosphor bronze alloy, and/or othermaterial.

The material of the cage 72 may be formed into the cage 72 in anymanner. For example, the material of the cage 72 may be bent, molded,welded, and/or otherwise formed into the cage 72. Additionally, oralternative, the cage 72 may be formed from a single piece of metal(e.g., a metal plate) or formed from a plurality of pieces of metal orother material. In some cases, the first portion 72 a of the cage 72 andthe second portion 72 b of the cage 72 may be formed from a single pieceof bent metal.

The screw 74 of terminal 70 may be a self-locking screw or other screwthat extends at least partially through and/or within the first portion72 a of the cage 72, where a recess under the screw head and/or specialflanges (not shown) extending from the cage 72 may help hold the screwat a desired position (e.g., a desired position for maintaining the nut76 within the cage 72). The head of the screw 74 may allow for use withany desired tool. For example, the head of the screw 74 may allow forthe use of a flat-head screwdriver, a Phillips head screwdriver (e.g.,Phillips PH1, or other Phillips screwdriver), an Allen wrench/hex keytool, or other tool. The screw 74 may be formed from steel, hardenedsteel, or any other suitable material.

The nut 76 may be configured to engage the screw 74 in a threaded manneror a different manner at least partially within the first portion 72 aof the cage 72. In some instances, the nut 76 may be completelyunscrewed from the screw 74, but due to its positioning within the firstportion 72 a of the cage 72 the nut may not drop from the terminal 70and the screw 74 may be engaged by the screw 74 again.

In some instances, and as shown in FIG. 37, the nut 76 may includefeatures (e.g., grooves 77, dimples, bumps, or other features) to helpengage an end of a wire. This may help protect the electronic assembly10 from unintended wire pull-out when the screw 74 is tightened tonominal torque (e.g., 1 lb-in-6 lb-in, 2 lb-in-5 lb-in, 3 lb-in-4 lb-in,such as 3.5 lb-in or any other torque level less than 1 lb-in or greaterthan 6 lb-in).

The terminal 70 may be placed in a suitable pattern to match the patternof the pins 62 attached to the PCB 34 of the PWA 14. A nominal pin 62spacing may be configured to be a particular distance (e.g., 1 mm, 2 mm,3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm, 7 mm, 8 mm, 9 mm, 10 mm, or other distance). Insome instances, two pins 62 may be connected to the PCB 34, which may beused to power the electronic assembly with a 24 volt alternate current(AC) or other current, where one wire connected to a terminal 70 may bea ground wire and the other wire connected to a terminal 70 may be livewire (e.g., carrying 24 V AC or other voltage). As the pins 62 of theelectronic assembly 10 are configured to slidingly engage the flange 78of the terminal 70 within the wall plate 80, the housing 12 and thecontents therein may be removed from the wall plate 80 withoutdisconnecting the wires from the terminals 70 of the wall plate.

The terminals 70 of the wall plate 80 may be used in a method ofelectrically connecting a wire to the PCB 34 that may be at leastpartially or substantially housed in the housing 12 of the electronicassembly 10. The terminal 70 may be inserted into an openings 83 in thewall plate 80, and a latch of the terminal 70 may be snapped into or mayotherwise engage a hole 88 in the opening 83 to secure the terminalrelative to the wall plate 80. In one illustrative instance, a wire maybe slid adjacent the nut 76 of the first portion 72 a of the cage 72 ofthe terminal 70 in the wall plate 80. The screw 74, extending at leastpartially through the first portion 72 a of the cage 72, may then berotated and tighten the nut 76 so as to capture the wire between the nut76 and the third side 75 c of the first portion 72 a of the cage 72. Theflange 78 of the second portion 72 b of the cage 72 may engage the pin62, where the pin 62 may extend from the PCB 34 through an aperture inthe housing 12.

In some instances, the electronic assemblies 10 powered from line powertransformers may need to be able to withstand surge energy which maycome from the power line, through a transformer, to the electronicassembly 10. During surge events, a voltage at a loaded transformer mayexceed an absolute maximum rating of power supply voltage for theelectronic assembly 10. In other words, the overall energy may be high.To protect the electronic assembly 10 against such power surges (orevent ESD events), suitable over voltage protection components inelectrical communication with the pins 62 may be utilized on the PWA 14.

One approach for such surge protection may involve splitting a surgevoltage. For example, the surge energy may be split and directed to twoor three (or four or more) components. As in the circuit diagrams 120,140, 160 in FIGS. 39-41, respectively, a first component may be one ormore varistors 122 (e.g., a small varistor or a large varistor) having aclamping voltage (e.g., a low clamping voltage or a high clampingvoltage), a second component may be one or more resistors 124 (e.g., aserial resistor or a parallel resistor), and a third component includeone or more diodes 126 (e.g., a Transient Voltage Suppressor (TVS) diodeor other diode) with a small clamping voltage or a large clampingvoltage. In the above example, the resistor 124 may be the componentthat allows the surge energy to be split between the varistor 122 andthe diode 126 in a suitable ratio. Optionally, some part of the surgevoltage may be absorbed by a first capacitor or a capacitor 128 (e.g., a47 uF-FK bulk capacitor, other bulk capacitor, or other capacitor) asbest shown in FIG. 41.

The varistors 122 may be any type of varistor. In some instances, one ormore of the varistors 122 may be a 56 volt varistor or other type ofvaristor. The resistors 124 may be any type of resistor. In someinstances, one or more of the resistors 124 may be a thin film resistoror a thick film resistor. In some cases, the resistors 124 may bewire-wound resistors or resistors of other configurations. The diodes126 may be any type of diodes. In some instances, the diodes 126 may beTransient Voltage Suppressor (TVS) diodes or any other type of diodes.The capacitor 128, when present, may be any type of capacitor. In someinstances, the capacitors 128 may be bulk capacitors (e.g., 17 uF bulkcapacitors) or any other type of capacitor.

In some instances, the surge protection circuit may be configured on aprinted circuit/wiring board (e.g., PCB 34 or PWA 14). For example, avaristor 122, a resistor 124, a diode 126, and/or a capacitor 128 mayeach be separately secured to the printed circuit/wiring board orsecured to the printed circuit/wiring board in combination or in anyother manner. In some cases, one or more of the varistor 122, resistor124, diodes 126, and/or capacitor 128 may be surface mounted to theprinted circuit/wiring board (e.g., PCB 34 or PWA 14).

As shown in FIGS. 39-41, a varistor 122 (e.g., a first voltage clamp) ofthe circuit diagrams 120, 140, 160 of surge protection circuits may bepositioned between a power input terminal 121 at the R node and a commonterminal 123 at the C node of the electronic assembly 10 (e.g., an HVACdevice). A resistor 124 and a diode 126 (e.g., a second voltage clamp,where the second voltage clamp may be less than the first voltage clamp)of the circuit diagram 120, 140, 160 may be positioned between the powerinput terminal 121 and the common terminal 123 of the electronicassembly 10, in parallel with the varistor 122. In some instances, theresistor 124 may be connected in series with the diode 126 at an outputnode 125. The output node 125 and common terminal 123 may provide asurge delimited power supply to the printed circuit/wiring board (e.g.,PCB 34 or PWA 14).

In some instances, as shown for example in FIGS. 39 and 40, theresistor(s) 124 may be connected or located between the power inputterminal 121 and the output node 125, the diode(s) 126 may be positionedbetween the output node 125 and the common terminal 123, and thevaristor(s) 122 may be positioned between the input terminal 121 and thecommon terminal 123. In circuit diagram 140 of FIG. 40, a first varistor122 a, a second varistor 122 b, a first resistor 124 a, and a secondresistor 124 b are depicted. In some instances, the first varistor 122 aand the second varistor 122 b are connected in parallel as shown.Alternatively, or additionally, the first resistor 124 a and the secondresistor 124 b are connected in parallel. Although not shown, the surgeprotection circuit may have a first varistor 122 a, a second varistor122 b, and a single resistor 124. Alternatively, the surge protectioncircuit may have a single varistor 122, and a first resistor 124 a and asecond resistor 124 b.

FIG. 41 depicts circuit diagram 160. In circuit diagram 160, a firstvaristor 122 a, a second varistor 122 b, a resistor 124, and a capacitor128 (e.g., a bulk capacitor) are depicted. In some instance, the firstvaristor 122 a and the second varistor 122 b may be connected inparallel as shown. The first varistor 122 a and the second varistor 122b may be a first voltage clamp positioned and/or connected between thepower input terminal 121 and the common terminal 123. The resistor 124is shown connected between the power input terminal 121 and a firstterminal of capacitor 128, and a second terminal of capacitor 128 isshown connected to the common terminal 123. The first terminal ofcapacitor 128 corresponds to the output node 125 of the illustrativepower surge protector circuit. The capacitor 128, when included in thepower surge protector circuit, may be configured to absorb voltagespikes at the output port 125.

In some instances, the capacitor 128 may include one or a plurality ofcapacitors 128. In one illustrative example shown in FIG. 41, the powersurge circuit protector 160 may include a first capacitor 128 a, asecond capacitor 128 b, and a third capacitor 128 c. The plurality ofcapacitors 128 may be positioned in series or in parallel with respectto one another.

A more detailed example of the operation of the power surge circuitprotector of FIG. 39 will now be provided. Typical maximum peak surgecurrent may be around 44 amps (A). The protective circuitry may beanalyzable as a direct current (DC) circuit powered from a 44 A currentsource because energy dissipation is proportional to the actual currentvalue, and the 44 A peak current may represent a worst case scenario.The 44 A input current may be split at R node 121 (e.g., a power node)into 15 A that travels through a 56V varistor 122, and 29 A that travelsthrough the resistor 124 and diode 126. Voltage levels between the Rnode and a C node (e.g., a common node) may be limited to the clampingvoltage of the varistor 122, which may be 110V, for example. On theserial combination of resistor 124 and diode 126, the clamping voltagemay be defined by the properties of the diode (54V) 126, which mayresult in a voltage to the resistor of, for example, 110V−54V=56V.Because the 56V is defined by differences between the clamping voltagesof the varistor 122 and the diode 126, the current through the diode 126may be given by the voltage difference divided by the resistance of theresistor. Thus, if 29 A is desired to pass through resistor 124 anddiode 126, the resistor should have a value of about 2 ohms. As can beseen, the value of resistor 124 may be chosen to achieve a desired splitof the 44 A input current between the varistor(s) 122 and the diode(s)126.

Although, particular surge protecting schematic block diagrams arediscussed herein and shown in the Figures, other similar and dissimilarcircuit layouts may be utilized to help protect the electronic assembly10 from undesirable surges of energy or power.

In a method of operation, such as a method of protecting an electronicdevice or assembly 10 from damage to electronic components 16 thereoncaused by power surges received from line power connected to theelectronic device or assembly 10 or power surges from other sources, mayinclude providing a printed circuit/wiring board 14, 34 and providing apower surge protector circuit thereon. Illustratively, the power surgecircuit protector may include one or more of a varistor 122, a resistor124 (e.g., a serially positioned resistor or other resistor), diode 126(e.g., transient voltage suppressor diode or other diode), and/or acapacitor 128. Surge voltages may then be split between two or moreelectronic components 16 (e.g., a varistor 122, a diode 126, and/or acapacitor 128) on the printed circuit/wiring board 14, 34. In someinstances, the value of a resistor 124 may determine the split of thesurge current between the two or more electronic components in the powersurge protector circuit.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the present disclosure maybe manifested in a variety of forms other than the specific embodimentsdescribed and contemplated herein. Accordingly, departure in form anddetail may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent disclosure as described in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic assembly that is mountable to amounting surface, comprising: a housing having a front side and a backside; a wall plate releasably connectable to the housing; the back sideof the housing defining a recess for receiving at least part of the wallplate, wherein the recess is defined by a recessed back wall and recessside walls, wherein the recess side walls have a first perimeteradjacent the recessed back wall and a second perimeter positionedrearward the first perimeter toward the back side of the housing,wherein the second perimeter is larger than the first perimeter; and thewall plate having a perimeter that is defined by side walls, wherein atleast part of the side walls of the wall plate are configured to matewith at least part of the recess side walls of the housing.
 2. Theelectronic assembly of claim 1, wherein the side walls of the wall platehave a first perimeter adjacent the housing and a second perimetertoward a mounting surface, wherein the second perimeter is larger thanthe first perimeter.
 3. The electronic assembly of claim 1, wherein therecess and the wall plate are configured such that the recess caninitially receive the wall plate with the wall plate misaligned relativeto the housing, and then progressively further align the housing and thewall plate as the housing and wall plate are moved together.
 4. Theelectronic assembly of claim 1, wherein the wall plate has a thicknessand the recess has a depth, wherein the depth of the recess is sized toreceive at least a majority of the thickness of the wall plate.
 5. Theelectronic assembly of claim 1, wherein the side walls of the wall plateinclude an angled surface that substantially matches an angled surfaceof the recess side walls.
 6. The electronic assembly of claim 5, whereinthe angled surface of the wall plate extends at an angle of between 20and 70 degrees relative to the mounting surface when the wall plate ismounted to the mounting surface.
 7. The electronic assembly of claim 5,wherein the angled surface of the wall plate extends at an angle ofbetween 30 and 60 degrees relative to the mounting surface when the wallplate is mounted to the mounting surface.
 8. The electronic assembly ofclaim 1, wherein the wall plate includes an aperture for receiving ascrew for attaching the wall plate to the mounting surface, and whereinthe recessed back wall includes a relief feature that aligns with theaperture in the wall plate.
 9. The electronic assembly of claim 8,wherein the screw has a screw head, and the relief feature is configuredto accommodate at least part of the screw head.
 10. The electronicassembly of claim 1, wherein the housing has housing side walls thatextend from a front of the housing to a back of the housing, wherein thehousing side walls taper inward from the front of the housing to theback of the housing.
 11. An electronic assembly that is mountable to amounting surface, comprising: a housing having a front side and a backside; a wall plate releasably connectable to the back side of thehousing; and wherein the housing and the wall plate are configured suchthat the housing and wall plate can initially engage each other with thewall plate misaligned relative to the housing, and to guide the housingand the wall plate into alignment as the housing and wall plate aremoved further together.
 12. The electronic assembly of claim 11, whereinthe back side of the housing defines a recess for receiving at leastpart of the wall plate, wherein the recess and the wall plate areconfigured such that the recess can initially receive the wall platewith the wall plate misaligned relative to the housing, and thenprogressively align the housing and the wall plate as the housing andwall plate are moved further together.
 13. The electronic assembly ofclaim 12, wherein the recess is defined by a recessed back wall andrecess side walls, wherein the recess side walls have a first perimeteradjacent the recessed back wall and a second perimeter rearward towardthe back side of the housing, wherein the second perimeter is largerthan the first perimeter, and wherein side walls of the wall plate havea first perimeter adjacent the housing and a second perimeter toward amounting surface, wherein the second perimeter is larger than the firstperimeter.
 14. The electronic assembly of claim 13, wherein the sidewalls of the wall plate include an angled surface that substantiallymatches an angled surface of the recess side walls.
 15. The electronicassembly of claim 13, wherein an angled surface of the wall plateextends at an angle of between 30 and 60 degrees relative to themounting surface when the wall plate is mounted to the mounting surface.16. The electronic assembly of claim 13, wherein the wall plate includesan aperture for receiving a screw for attaching the wall plate to themounting surface, and wherein the recessed back wall includes a relieffeature that aligns with the aperture in the wall plate.
 17. Theelectronic assembly of claim 16, wherein the screw has a screw head, andthe relief feature is configured to accommodate at least part of thescrew head.
 18. The electronic assembly of claim 12, wherein the wallplate has a thickness and the recess has a depth, wherein the depth ofthe recess is sized to receive at least a majority of the thickness ofthe wall plate.
 19. The electronic assembly of claim 11, wherein thefront side of the wall plate defines a recess for receiving at leastpart of the back side of the housing, wherein the recess in the wallplate and the back side of the housing are configured such that therecess can initially receive the back side of the housing with the wallplate misaligned relative to the housing, and then progressively alignthe housing and the wall plate as the housing and wall plate are movedfurther together.
 20. A method of assembling an electronic assembly, themethod comprising: providing a housing having a front side and a backside; providing a wall plate; moving the wall plate into engagement withthe back side of the housing; and sliding an aligning surface of thewall plate along an aligning surface of the housing to align the wallplate with the housing as the wall plate is moved further towards thehousing.